OBAMA - NOBEL PEACE: U.S. President Barack Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo recognized Mr. Obama for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." White House officials say Mr. Obama was "humbled" to have recieved the peace prize. In annoucing the award Friday, the Nobel committee said it had attached special importance to the president's vision of and work for "a world without nuclear weapons. The committee said that under Mr. Obama's leadership "dialogue and negotiations" are preferred as instruments for resolving "even the most difficult international conflicts."
PAKISTAN - VIOLENCE: Pakistani officials say a car bomb exploded in the northwestern city of
Peshawar, killing at least 41 people and wounding more than 100 others.
The blast occurred Friday morning in the crowded Khyber Bazaar area
near the provincial legislative assembly building. A charred minibus
lay on its side alongside several other destroyed vehicles and
scattered debris.
Security forces were on hand examining the wreckage.
Also Friday, militants on the outskirts of Peshawar destroyed several
supply vehicles on their way to international troops just over the
border in Afghanistan.
IRAN - ISRAEL - US: An aide to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Friday
Iran will retaliate against Israel if it was attacked by the Jewish
state or the United States.
The offical news agency (IRNA) quotes Ayatollah Khamenei's
representative to the elite Revolutionary Guard (Mojtaba Zolnour) as
saying if one American or Israeli missile hits Iran, Iran will "blow up
the heart" of Israel.
Iranian officials have repeatedly said Tehran would retaliate if Israel
or the United States were to attack it.
The U.S. and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran if
diplomacy fails to end the stalemate over its nuclear program.
ASIA - STORMS: Philippine officials say heavy rain in mountainous provinces in the
north of the country have triggered landslides, killing more than 160
people.
Provincial governor Nestor Fongwan says the worst of the landslides
appeared to be in his remote province of Benguet, where 120 people were
confirmed killed in five towns.
The northern Philippines has been pounded by heavy rain since Typhoon Parma hit the country on Saturday.
Forecasters say Parma was still lingering off the northeastern coast of
the Philippines Friday, as it began moving across the South China Sea
toward Vietnam. Parma is the second major storm to hit the country in
two weeks.
BURMA - SUU KYI: Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is meeting with Western diplomats in the main city of Rangoon.
Burma's military-ruled government gave permission for the Nobel Peace
laureate to meet with diplomats from the United States, Britain and
Australia.
Aung San Suu Kyi sent a letter last month to Senior General Than Shwe,
the leader of the military junta, offering to cooperate in order to
have Western sanctions against Burma lifted. She and Labor Minister
Aung Kyi held a 45-minute meeting last Saturday at a government guest
house.
Aung San Suu Kyi has been under some form of detention for 14 of the
last 20 years.
US - ASEAN - BURMA: A White House spokesman says Burmese leaders will not be attending a meeting between the U.S. president and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next month. Robert Gibbs said Thursday, when questioned by reporters, that he did not believe Burma's leaders will be in attendance at the November event in Singapore. The White House announced Wednesday that President Obama will make an Asian tour in November, with stops in Japan, Singapore, China, and South Korea. He will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit November 13 through 15.
NOKOR - NUCLEAR: Leaders from South Korea and Japan say North Korea should not be
offered any aid until it takes concrete steps to dismantle its nuclear
weapons program.
Speaking at a joint news conference in Seoul Friday, Japanese Prime
Minister Yukio Hatoyama said that he agrees with South Korean President
Lee Myung-bak that aid to North must be conditional.
Earlier this week, North Korea announced that it would rejoin
international talks on its nuclear program, as long as it makes
progress on a request to talk directly with the United States.
HONDURAS: A diplomatic delegation has left Honduras without resolving an ongoing
political stalemate over the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya.
Members of the delegation sponsored by the Organization of American
States departed Thursday, following talks a day earlier with
representatives of both interim President Roberto Micheletti and Mr.
Zelaya.
Envoys also met with Mr. Micheletti, who criticized the diplomats for
failing to understand why Mr. Zelaya was forcibly removed from office
June 28. Additionally, Mr. Micheletti criticized the suspension of aid
to the Central American nation.
US - MOON PROBE: The U.S. space agency, NASA, is planning to crash a rocket into the moon Friday in hopes of detecting water in the debris produced by the impact. NASA will be sending the empty rocket into a crater on the moon's south pole to kick up a massive cloud of lunar dirt. The rocket is attached to a special satellite. Following the rocket's impact, the satellite will follow closely behind to study the lunar dirt spraying up to see if there is any water or ice in it. Space agency officials say finding water on the moon could speed up lunar exploration as they work on plans to return astronauts to the moon's surface.
Listen to our World News for details.
